Uncharted to the big screen

[CeeKay]

this was pretty much a no brainer.  I wonder who they will get to play Nate.....

[leo8877]

It could never be as good as the movie that the game is.

[CeeKay]

    David O. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter) has been set to write and direct Columbia Pictures’ Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, an action-adventure based upon the bestselling PlayStation 3 game, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures. The film will be produced by Avi Arad, Charles Roven, Ari Arad, and Alex Gartner.

    The story follows the adventures of treasure hunter Nathan Drake.

    Commenting on the announcement, Tolmach said, “David is a tremendous choice to take on this film. He’s equally adept at combining all the classic elements involved in this property: great character development, strong comedy, and amazing action sequences. He has a brilliant vision for this material and we know he will bring his original, unique voice to this adaptation.”

    The game, developed by the acclaimed team at Naughty Dog, was one of Sony Computer Entertainment’s best-selling and most critically acclaimed games for the PS3. Named IGN’s Best Action Game and Best PS3 Game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune sold one million copies in the first 10 weeks of its release at the end of 2007 on its way to moving more than 2.6 (confirm) million copies and spawning a sequel. That sequel, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, was a major commercial and critical success, winning Game of the Year honors from several influential critics, being named the most critically acclaimed game of the year by Metacritic, and selling more than 3.8 million copies worldwide. Both games are among the all-time best-selling games for the platform.

    The project will be overseen at Columbia Pictures by Tolmach and Jonathan Kadin.

[Daehawk]

Nicolas Cage

[CeeKay]

It could never be as good as the movie that the game is.

you never know....

[Geezer]

Nicolas Cage

Raiders of the Lost National Uncharted Treasure.

[rshetts2]

Nicolas Cage

Apprentice Ghost Riding Raiders of the Lost National Uncharted Treasure.

FTFY

[Autistic Angel]

this was pretty much a no brainer.  I wonder who they will get to play Nate.....

Considering that Drake, Sully, and Elena are all modeled after their voice actors, I can't imagine why they wouldn't start by trying to get Nolan North, Richard McGonagle, and Elena Fisher to reprise their roles.  It's the most sensible possible thing.

In other words, they'll cast Chris Rock, Michael Cera, and Lindsey Lohan.

-Autistic Angel

[metallicorphan]

Meh,as a game fine...but in Cinema i will just be expecting Indiana Jones/The Mummy/Tomb Raider mix,and i can't say cinema needs another just yet

[wonderpug]

Nathan Fillion's calling for a fan campaign to get him cast as Drake:

If ever there was a Twitter campaign, let this be it. Rise, ye Browncoats. Rise, ye Castillions. RISE!

[The Grue]

It could never be as good as the movie that the game is.

+1

[Kevin Grey]

O' Russell is an interesting choice.  He's got way more artistic cred than I would expect for a videogame adaptation.

[Teggy]

I could see Emily Rose as Elena, but they'll never go for Nolan North. I think they might even want someone younger than Nathan Fillion, but I could see him in the role.

I hope they at least draw on the writers at Naughty Dog, seeing as they know the characters the best.

[USMC Kato]

Nathan Fillion's calling for a fan campaign to get him cast as Drake:

If ever there was a Twitter campaign, let this be it. Rise, ye Browncoats. Rise, ye Castillions. RISE!

I would watch this day 1 if Nathan Fillion is cast as Drake. 

[Teggy]

Reading some movie sites, it appears that the script is out there and the verdict is that it sucks. So, not encouraging. Hopefully Russell will be doing rewrites.

[Gryndyl]

I can see the movie as actually being better as it's likely that they'll remove or fix the issues I had with the game storyline.

Script Excerpt:

Evil Bad-Guy Villain:
 Men! Our goal here is to stop a single man. This is why I have brought over a thousand of you, as well as an array of motorcycles, trucks and jeeps, an AA gun and an additional tanker full of fuel barrels. Now, spread out over the entire island in groups of 2-5! Take a couple of fuel barrels with you just in case. I want them spread everywhere in case any of the vehicles need emergency refueling in places that vehicles can't actually get to.

Let's see, what have I missed. Oh, yes, the river! You two! Take the left over fuel barrels and float them all down the river. Just in case our one patrol boat runs out of fuel somewhere.

Due to the absurd number of you, we need to find this massive treasure just so I have a hope in hell of making payroll next week. The treasure might just cover it, provided enough of you get killed out here.

Super Bad-Guy Villain: Remind me again why I hired this guy?

Flunky Bad-Guy Villain: He was cheap and he managed to organize all of this with less than a half an hour lead on the protagonist.

[Turtle]

Oh Eddie Raja, you're so under appreciated.

[farley2k]

Reading some movie sites, it appears that the script is out there and the verdict is that it sucks. So, not encouraging. Hopefully Russell will be doing rewrites.

A script based on a video game that isn't good?  That is shocking, just shocking.  They should hire the guys who did the Wing Commander script.  They could shape that script up!

[SkyLander]

I'm not a script writer but it seems really hard for me to understand how a script directly from source material That already had a script made for it would suck. I mean I can understand having your own flare but it was a pretty straightforward story and script.

[pr0ner]

Nathan Drake will be played by Marky Mark Wahlberg.

[Teggy]

Nathan Drake will be played by Marky Mark Wahlberg.

Is this statement of fact or prediction?

[MonkeyFinger]

Nathan Drake will be played by Marky Mark Wahlberg.

Is this statement of fact or prediction?

Statement of fact. 

[rshetts2]

Yeah I saw this yesterday.  its fact

[CeeKay]

Are they going to get Nolan North to do the voicework for him?

[pr0ner]

I posted that from my phone.  Kind of hard to provide a citation that way. 

[Teggy]

Not someone I would have considered, but I suppose it could work. Could be better, could be worse. Wonder who they will get for Elena (if they are even including that character).

[TiLT]

From the casting news that have emerged so far, I'm not impressed at all. While I do enjoy Mark Wahlberg's work (except Max Payne, a role he butchered), he doesn't fit Nathan Drake at all. Wahlberg is just too... soft, I guess. I just can't see him shouting out funny lines like Drake does all the time.

And what's that stuff about Drake's father and uncle? Is that really necessary? Nothing in the game canon has even hinted that these people are alive and well, or even that they're involved in the same kind of stuff as Nathan. Robert De Niro might be able to fit right into the Uncharted setting without too much effort, but Joe Pesci? Seriously? They're just going to play him as pure comic relief (scary Goodfellas performance notwithstanding), and it's not going to work.

[hepcat]

I loathe Mark Wahlberg with a passion.  I think he's incredibly overrated as an actor, a humorless dick in real life (if his reactions to things like "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" is any indication...which I'm going to assume so because I just feel like it) and just a mass of walking ego.  I'll probably see Uncharted, but it won't be a theater due to his presence in the film. 

[rickfc]

I loathe Mark Wahlberg with a passion.  I think he's incredibly overrated as an actor, a humorless dick in real life (if his reactions to things like "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" is any indication...which I'm going to assume so because I just feel like it) and just a mass of walking ego.  I'll probably see Uncharted, but it won't be a theater due to his presence in the film. 

Not that it'll change your opinion of him, but the whole "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" was a joke, his reaction included.

[hepcat]

I loathe Mark Wahlberg with a passion.  I think he's incredibly overrated as an actor, a humorless dick in real life (if his reactions to things like "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" is any indication...which I'm going to assume so because I just feel like it) and just a mass of walking ego.  I'll probably see Uncharted, but it won't be a theater due to his presence in the film. 

Not that it'll change your opinion of him, but the whole "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" was a joke, his reaction included.

I hadn't heard that.  But I'm dubious.  Methinks that may just be spin control on the part of his people.

[Bullwinkle]

I loathe Mark Wahlberg with a passion.  I think he's incredibly overrated as an actor, a humorless dick in real life (if his reactions to things like "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" is any indication...which I'm going to assume so because I just feel like it) and just a mass of walking ego.  I'll probably see Uncharted, but it won't be a theater due to his presence in the film. 

Not that it'll change your opinion of him, but the whole "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" was a joke, his reaction included.

I hadn't heard that.  But I'm dubious.  Methinks that may just be spin control on the part of his people.

His reaction on SNL was a joke, but apparently he wasn't too happy about the impression initially.  Still, he was good enough to get over it in the long run, I guess.

[gellar]

Marky Mark is a peacock, Captain.  You gotta let him fly!

[SkyLander]

Nathan Fillion would of been so much better.

[TiLT]

According to Joystiq, Mark Wahlberg isn't anywhere near to being confirmed as Nathan Drake, which makes it puzzling why he'd go out in public and claim the opposite. The game director seems to be well aware that Nathan Fillion is the fan favorite for the role. Also, the whole thing about the "family dynamic" in the movie is supposedly just hogwash.

I'm desperately clinging to the hope that everything we've heard about the movie so far is false. At least this last bit of news gives some slight hope.

[Teggy]

 

[Bullwinkle]

Having just watched The Other Guys, I have to second that thumbs up: 

[PR_GMR]

Nathan Fillion would of been so much better.

I hate to burst people's bubble.. but Nathan Fillion ain't gonna get this role.. because Nathan Fillion ain't a movie star. No studio will spend upwards of a 100 mill to have a movie carried by Nathan Fillion. He's a TV star.

[envy24]

Nathan Fillion would of been so much better.

I hate to burst people's bubble.. but Nathan Fillion ain't gonna get this role.. because Nathan Fillion ain't a movie star. No studio will spend upwards of a 100 mill to have a movie carried by Nathan Fillion. He's a TV star.

Watch Serenity 

[TiLT]

Nathan Fillion would of been so much better.

I hate to burst people's bubble.. but Nathan Fillion ain't gonna get this role.. because Nathan Fillion ain't a movie star. No studio will spend upwards of a 100 mill to have a movie carried by Nathan Fillion. He's a TV star.

Watch Serenity 

And Slither. Nathan Fillion has carried movies before, and he's certainly got the fanbase to be able to carry bigger ones.

[rshetts2]

Plus with the popularity from Castle, Fillion has a much larger and varied fan based than just from his Firefly/Serenity days.  I think he can carry a video game movie. Honestly, game movies tend to bomb no matter what so Fillion may be a boost to this thing,  Marky Mark?  Uh  no thanks, he already ruined one of my favorite books by doing a movie of it.